TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa Fire Department responded to 220 emergency calls since Sunday morning.
TFD said this is a high number of calls, and it's caused in part by the first cold snap of the year.
"It’s almost like clockwork. As we see temps drop we see an increase in fire, we see an increase in carbon monoxide calls," Andy Little with TFD told 2 News Oklahoma.
As folks try to stay warm and kick on their heaters for the first time, the fire department sees an increase in calls related to furnaces, stoves, chimneys, and heaters.
Crews also put out five house fires, one apartment fire, and eight carbon monoxide incidents. One of those houses is owned by Randy Biles.
Late Sunday night, his wife heard a strange sound coming from the attic while she scrolled social media.
Mr. Biles checked it out and couldn't see anything. The noise persisted and he checked again. A fire broke out in their attic.
"The whole inside was just extremely hot. So I yelled for my wife and I said ‘we gotta fire, get outta here’ so we all just ran out and you know, called the fire department," Biles said.
Due to the location of the fire, Biles' smoke alarms didn't sound. Awareness, and a bit of luck, saved them.
"You know, if we were sound asleep the dang roof could have caved in on us and it could have been a different story," Biles said.
Some incidents, like the Biles', are unavoidable; however, the TFD offered some tips for homeowners like yearly inspections of fireplaces, keeping generators outside and replacing the batteries in smoke detectors.
WATCH: Tips to warm your home this winter
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